Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service (WFRS) is asking businesses to make sure they understand their responsibilities for fire safety in the workplace as part of Business Safety Week; and in th...
Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service (WFRS) is asking businesses to make sure they understand their responsibilities for fire safety in the workplace as part of Business Safety Week; and in the run up to forthcoming changes in fire safety legislation.
WFRS is supporting the National Fire Chiefs Council’s (NFCC’s) Business Safety Week, which runs from September 11 to September 17 2023.
The week aims to help businesses understand their fire safety responsibilities, so they remain safe, legal, and compliant. Many fires in the workplace are preventable and some businesses never recover after a fire.
Helping businesses to manage their fire risks and hazards, and potentially to save lives and safeguard against financial and commercial loss is of key importance.
At this time of year many businesses will be preparing for the Christmas period and may also be impacted by the cost-of-living crisis, so taking simple measures to help reduce risks of a fire starting and ensuring staff know how to respond in the right way can help to keep people safe and makes business sense.
It’s important that businesses consider the risk of fire in any changes they make and ensure all staff are aware of fire safety in the workplace. From October 1 (in England and Wales only) new fire safety legislation comes into effect. This will mean that many businesses and building owners need to check if and how this affects them to ensure they are complying with the regulations. The main changes are:
- All businesses will need to record a fire risk assessment and fire safety arrangements in full – regardless of the number of employees, and size or type of business.
- There are increased requirements for cooperation and coordination between Responsible Persons in multi occupied buildings or those where the occupier and owner are not the same person.
- In residential buildings with two or more domestic premises residents must be provided with information on the risks from fire and the fire safety measures provided to keep them safe.
The campaign week will highlight these changes and highlight the advice that WFRS can provide to businesses to ensure they remain complaint with the law.
There’s plenty of advice and support for businesses from WFRS so we encourage anyone that has questions or may not be sure about fire safety to contact us so we can help.
Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for Community Safety and Fire Andy Crump said: “At Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service, we are committed to helping all types of businesses reduce the risk of fire in the workplace and be compliant with fire safety law.
“We don’t expect businesses to be experts - that’s why we are here to provide help and advice.
“We encourage any business to work with their fire service to help prevent fires to help them remain productive, safe and legal.”
Key messaging during Business Fire Safety Week includes electrical safety, arson protection, keeping fire doors clear, reducing false alarms and conducting fire risk assessments.
Throughout the week we will be sharing a number of case studies on our social media channels which look at the work the WFRS Protection team has been doing to keep Warwickshire businesses safe from fire.
Keep up to date with updates and advice throughout Business Safety Week by following @NFCC_FireChiefs on Facebook and Twitter and search #BusinessSafety23.
To find out more about fire safety for businesses, visit https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/fire-safety-businesses-1.